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Crocodile Hovertank
"If you stop moving, I'll kill you before the bad guys do!" :- Crocodile Hovertank gunner to his driver Tactical Analysis *'Suspension of disbelief': In spite of its disastrous (and brief) appearance in the theatres of WWIII, the Crocodile Hovertank does have its merits. Its hover suspension grants it excellent all terrain mobility, and its twin autocannnons and speed make it an excellent flanker. *'You call ''that a tank?!: Unfortunately, in a head on fight, the Crocodile is horrible. Considering that even machine gun bullets can puncture its paper thin armour, imagine the effect of anti tank weapons on such a vehicle. Its only defence is its great speed and for it to keep moving. *'''Faster, faster, faster!: Seeing as how vital speed and mobility is to the Crocodile's survival, its not surprising that the Crocodile can gain a further boost of speed. Such an ability may only be used occasionally and in bursts, however, to prevent the engine from overheating. *'Rocket barrage': In order to compensate for the ineffectiveness of their autocannons, some Crocodiles are being outfitted with anti-tank rockets. The rockets are fired in salvos of six, and lend some extra anti-tank firepower to the Crocodile. Operational History Peace is a prize worth fighting for. In peace, parents die before children, factories make consumer goods, and nations have good will to others. No one really wants war; even the Soviets wish nothing more than peace (under Soviet control, of course.) But there are disadvantages to peace. One of the biggest examples to plague the Allies in the early months of World War III were projects that should have been stopped, but were instead encouraged. Main battle tanks have few disadvantages when used right. One of these problems, however, is water. Whether a Mastiff or a Guardian, tank divisions are stopped by oceans, rivers, or even simple farming canals. Though this was never too constraining on a strategic level, certain officers felt it was important enough to commission a tank to supplement Allied forces in boggy land or for ocean landings, and especially for actions in watery Holland. Neptune Hovercraft was given a commission to build a tank that could hover over the ground, and was at least a bit useful in battle. The resulting SwM-4e9 Crocodile Hovertank impressed Allied High Command enough to equip certain units in the Allied military with it. The Crocodile looked to have a bright future. As is often the case for outlandish Allied designs, however, the Crocodile was less than impressive once it hit battle. The light weight required for it to hover precluded the use of a standard main gun; it had to make do with two 40mm autocannons, which worked pitifully against thick Soviet armour. The same requirement for light weight meant that the Crocodile also lacked armour of even the thinnest sort. Though watertight, a machine gun could damage the engine irreparably, and the Soviets' tanks had much more firepower than that. Once one engine was down, the whole hovertank immediately hit the deck, which was fatal when over water and only slightly less so when on the ground with nearby Soviet units. But the biggest reason was simply that the Crocodile had no place in the Allied forces. The new Riptide was cheaper and did the job easier, and the Vindicator made hunting Soviet armour on the ground pointless. After a disastrous attempt to assault Soviet naval forces from Zealand, the Crocodile was completely withdrawn from the front line in Europe, even in Holland, the place it was originally designed for! Most of the Crocodiles were shipped to India, where they were assumed to ride out the rest of the war as a show of force to the less well armed warlords of the region. However, the Indians desperately needed any sort of armoured support, and the Crocodiles were pressed into service on the front. As it turned out, the Crocodile was not completely useless after all - Indian drivers realized that the Crocodile's engines would allow them to circle around tanks faster than their turrets could turn - but only if they were daring to drive that fast. They quickly proved their worth in China, able to flank and outmanoeuvre the sluggish Communist Chinese tanks. Crocodile Hovertanks have replaced the Indian Army's more traditional Beagles in some theatres, most notably China. Interestingly, FutureTech has also been conducting an experiment with the Crocodile. It works by putting a control building with communication equipment in an Allied base, and slaving several remote controlled Crocodiles to it via radio link. The Crocodile was used because it was thought a hovering vehicle would be less likely to get stuck or bogged down in terrain. It is not known how effective this will be strategically, and many analysts doubt much will come from it... Behind the Scenes * Yes, it's the Robot Tank from Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge. Category:Units